Stiffness of fasteners, as well as its strength, is a fundamental parameter in the design of structures with semirigid connnections. In this paper, an analysis of the elastic response of wood under embedment and its quantitative influence in structures with semirigid connections is presented. We make initially a brief review of the study of the response of wood under embedment. We present the derivation of stiffness of fasteners (slip modulus) from the beam on elastic foundation model and some experimental aspects and results for hardwood species, and underline some criteria aiming normalization for the embedment properties of wood. Finally we apply these values and criteria on the analysis of structures with semirigid connections. We conclude that provided that wood embedment properties are determined with good exactness, the linear and multiple linear models for the behavior of fasteners lead to reliable results in structural design.1 171178(1993) EUROCODE 5Design of Timber Structures - Part 1-1: General Rules and Rules for Buildings, 110p. , EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION, Bruxelas BruxelasWilkinson, T.L., Theoretical lateral resistance of nailed joints (1971) Journal of Structural Division, 97 (ST-5), pp. 1381-1398. , MayKuenzi, E.W., (1955) Theoretical Design of a Nailed or Bolted Joint Under Lateral Load, 31p. , Madison: Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, United State Department of Agriculture (Rep.D1951)Foschi, R., Load-slip characteristics of nails (1974) Wood Science, 7 (1), pp. 69-76Santana, C.L.O., Mascia, N.T., Automated design of rotational connections in wooden structures (2002) Ibero Latin American Congress on Computational Methods for Engineering, , Giulianova, Italy Proceedings. L'Aquila, Italy, 2002Racher, P., Moment resisting connections (1995) Timber Engineering-Step 1, , BLASS, H. J. et al. Almere: Centrum Hout Lecture C/16Santana, C.L.O., (2002) Analysis of Framed Structures with Semi-rigid Connections, 214p. , Campinas: State University of Campinas (PhD Thesis)(1997) NBR7190Projeto de Estruturas de Madeira (design of Timber Structures), 107p. , ABNT Rio de Janeiro 1997Valle, A., (1999) Rigidez de Ligações Com Parafusos Em Estruturas de Madeira Laminada Colada (Stiffness of Bolted Connections in Structures in GLULAM Timber), 169p. , Sao Paulo: USP (PhD Thesis)